Caught
by Nightmare Before Halloween
Summary: Oh no! Instead of fighting Percy in this AU story, Luke's gone after Clarisse at the airport in this SOM-timed story. R&R please


Caught

Disclaimer:I do not own PJO, Clarisse, or Luke, but I wish I did.

My face reddened as the worst possibility popped into my head: Clarisse had the Fleece. Percy had outsmarted me with just one move. "Clarisse?"

Percy nodded smugly. My first impulse was to grab my sword and cut his head off, but I formed a plan without a minute's hesitation."You trusted... You gave...."

"Yeah,"he said smugly.

"AGRIUS!"I screamed."GET MY STEED, NOW!"

Agrius, who was just standing there, gulped and rushed down the stairs as I fumed, clutching Backbiter tightly.

Percy looked behind me, at the swimming pool."You were toying with us all along. You wanted us to bring you the Fleece to save you the trouble of getting it."

I scowled."Of course, idiot. You've messed everything up!"

"TRAITOR!"Percy yelled, and shoved his hand into his pocket, pulled out a drachma, and tossed it at me. I dodged, and allowed the coin to land into the pool."You tricked us all, even DIONYSUS at CAMP HALF-BLOOD!"

I sneered and said,"Drop the sword, and I'll have you killed sooner than later."

Percy uncapped Riptide and asked,"Who poisoned Thalia's tree?"

I sneered."I did. I'd already told you that. I used elder python venom, straight from Tartarus."

"Chiron had nothing to do with it, right?"

"You know the old horse would never do it. He wouldn't have the guts."

"Guts? Betraying friends and endangering the camp?"

I raised my sword."You don't understand it at all. I was going to give you the Fleece when I was done with it."

Percy hesitated. It looked like he was trying to figure out if I was lying or not. "You wanted to heal Kronos."

"The magic of the Fleece would've sped his mending by tenfold. You haven't stopped the army, Percy. Just slowed us down."

"So you poisoned the tree, betrayed Thalia, and set us up to help Kronos,"the brat concluded.

Gritting my teeth angrily, I said,"You know this already, so why ask?"

"I wanted the audience to hear you."

My eyes narrowed, and I turned. There it was, the Iris-Message, the whole camp, and Dionysus and some dude in a jumpsuit watching us intently.

"Some unplanned entertainment,"Dionysus said.

"You heard Luke, Mr. D,"Percy said."It wasn't Chiron's fault that Thalia's tree was poisoned."

Mr. D sighed and muttered,"I suppose not."

"This IM could be a trick,"the man in the jumpsuit suggested, but he didn't look up from his cheeseburger, which he was trying to corner with both hands.

"I know it isn't,"Mr. D said, glaring distastefully at the man."I guess reinstating Chiron is the right thing to do. I suppose I do miss his pinochle games."

The man snatched up the cheeseburger, and stared at it like a large diamond."I got it!"

"We are no longer in need of your services, Tantalus. You may return to the Underworld. Dismissed."

"NOOOOO!"Tantalus tried to bring the burger back to his mouth, but it was too late. With a small thud, the burger dropped back onto the plate as Tantalus disappeared. All the campers exploded into cheering.

I bellowed with rage and slashed the IM in half, dissolving it back into mist. I turned and gave Percy a murderous look. "Kronos is right. You're an unreliable weapon, and you need to be replaced."

One of my men blew the whistle, and several warriors came out and made a circle around Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and the Cyclops. I smiled evilly."You'll never get out of here alive, Percy."

He hesitated, but said,"One on one. What are you afraid of?"

The soldiers hesitated just as Agrius burst onto the deck with the black pegasus. "Your steed is ready, sir!"

I kept my eyes on the brat."I told you last summer:I can't be baited into a fight."

"You keep avoiding one, too,"Percy noted."Scared?"

I scowled and glanced at my warriors. I was trapped:fight Percy and waste time getting to Clarisse or leave and look like a coward. I only smiled calmly and said,"You're not worth it,squirt."

Percy looked stunned for a moment, and watched as I climbed onto the pegasus. Nearby, I could see a blur of hooves and horse bodies. I dug my heels into the pegasus and we took off, flying away from the running centaurs.

"YOU LOST, PERCY!"I shouted gleefully as the pegasus flew to the airport, where I'd find Clarisse, and more importantly, the Fleece.

**A/N:Like it? Hate it? This is in an Alternate Universe, where Luke runs to the airport instead of fighting Percy. I changed some lines around so I wouldn't get in big doo-doo by some FF staff or whatever. This is going to only be a two chapter story, so whatever.....**


End file.
